President Serzh Sargsyan in Paris met with the President of France François Hollande

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in the French Republic on a working visit today met with the President of France François Hollande. At the beginning of the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan thanked the President of France for the warm welcome and noted that he was greatly pleased to once again visit friendly France.

The President of Armenia noted with satisfaction that the Armenian-French relations, which are nourished by the close historical relations of the two nations, in last twenty years have been developing steadily, reaching the highest point in their history. According to the President, Armenian-French friendship is so deep, comprehensive and multifaceted that it would be difficult to define it in one or two sentences.

In Serzh Sargsyan’s words, such quality of relations was achieved by our countries thanks to a regular high-level dialogue, including the reciprocal visits of the Armenian and French Presidents, close interparliamentary cooperation, dynamic cultural, educational and scientific interaction, as well as through the regular contacts between the responsible officials from different areas.

The President noted that in recent years in the special Armenian-French relations there has been formed a wonderful tradition of maintaining that high-level dialogue – at least one annual meeting between the Presidents during which the parties discuss issues related to the Armenian-French, as well as Armenia-EU cooperation, urgent regional and global issues.

At today’s meeting too, the Presidents of Armenia and France also discussed in detail all the mentioned above problems.

With regard to the trade and economic relations, President Sargsyan noted with satisfaction the presence in Armenia of a large French business community with leading companies such as Carrefour, Pernod Richard, Orange, Credit Agricole, Alcatel, and Veolia which will soon be amplified by other companies.

The President stressed also the importance of the assistance programs launched this year by the French Development Agency. He underscored that decentralized cooperation is also developing successfully: Over 30 local authorities of Armenia and France have established close partnership relations. In that context, the President of France stressed, in particular, the importance of the Third Convention on Decentralized Cooperation to be held October 15-17 in Valence.

Speaking about interparliamentary ties, the Presidents of Armenia and France noted with satisfaction that friendship groups are working actively in the parliaments of the two countries. It’s been one year since Armenia joined the International Organization of Francophonie; the Armenian-French cultural and education relations are also developing successfully.

At the meeting, President Serzh Sargsyan once again expressed thanks to François Hollande for the continued efforts of the French side aimed at the peaceful resolution of the NK conflict. The Presidents of Armenia and France reiterated that there is no alternative to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship. Serzh Sargsyan noted that Armenia attaches special importance to the personal involvement of the French President in the process.

The parties spoke in detail about the prospects of Armenia-EU cooperation. They agreed that maximum efforts should be made to maintain the tempo and quality of the cooperation, to continue the process of reformation in Armenia. President Sargsyan reiterated Armenia’s commitment to carry on. President François Hollande assured that France - as Armenia's friend and one of the leaders of the European Union and major international player - will continue to assist Armenia in moving forward her European agenda.

At the meeting, the President of Armenia once again expressed gratitude for France's significant contribution to the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

To ensure the continuation of the high-level political dialogue established between the two countries, Serzh Sargsyan reiterated the invitation extended to the President of France to conduct a state visit to the Republic of Armenia.